As a fourth year undergraduate student, Trey Kujiraoka was always determined to reach his goals, not only within his education, but also in his social life throughout his college career.

No matter what university Kujiraoka ended up attending, he wanted to leave a lasting impression on everyone that he came across. Planning to graduate in the Spring semester of 2022, the senior is majoring in Business Management, as well as serving as the President of the Sonoma State University Club Baseball Team. This is Kujiraoka’s fourth year as a member of the team and his second year serving as President for the squad. The student athlete played third base and designated hitter batting clean up, as well as a little bit of first base. In the 2020 school year, Kujiraoka served as the Vice President. Following his Vice Presidency, he was ready to take his leadership role a step further and try his hand at being President.

“[As President], I am in charge of making sure everything gets done for the team,” Kujiraoka said. “I am the main communication between the club team itself, the university, and the league. I am constantly in contact with the school and league representatives, Mike Dominguez, and Eric Curitore, making sure our dues get taken care of, making sure we are insured, as well as making sure our charter is renewed to be affiliated with the school year. In other words, I am the middle man.”

As President of the team, Kujiraoka does his best to ensure every player on the team is not only taken care of, but game ready as well.

“Trey has been a huge part of the club team. He’s done a really good job of continuing to be the President during the pandemic. Not only is he a key contributor on the field, but has time and time shown himself to be a true leader both on and off the diamond,” teammate Clark Fahrenthold said.

Kujiraoka’s inspiration for joining the club due in part to his passion for the game he’s been playing for 16 years, but also coming across the Club Baseball team during his freshman year at Big Nite. “Joining the club was one of my best decisions I made over the course of attending SSU. I met some of my closest friends throughout my time here from this club. Coming to a new school, I wanted to get involved and meet new people,” Kujiraoka said.

Last Spring, the squad played every series against opposing universities, except playoffs, before getting the remainder of their season cancelled due to COVID-19. Each series consisted of a best of three games. The schools they did end up playing were Chico State, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley while missing series’ against the University of Nevada Reno and San Jose State. The team, as a whole, was ranked first in the league, on track to clinch playoffs. “We were a top playoff contention team ranked at 35 the last time we played a full season and ranked at 32 in the nation out of 200 teams,” Kujiraoka said.

Kujiraoka’s most memorable moment while a part of the club was making a double-elimination playoff bracket two years ago in Lancaster. This was the second time the club had done well enough in their season to make the playoffs as the third seed.

After graduation, Kujiraoka is excited to be a part of the new opportunities in the aerospace industry. He currently works for a small family-owned business that his grandfather started over 60 years ago. At the moment, the student athlete works there part-time and plans to work there full-time, and work his way up within the business.

Aside from school, work, and baseball, Kujiraoka likes to hang out with his friends and family, go fishing, and practice his archery skills during his free time. Throughout the rest of his college experience, Kujiraoka will continue to play for the SSU Club Baseball Team and continue to serve as President. He is looking forward to furthering his passion with baseball and work with high hopes to take what he has learned outside of SSU.